Alejandro Sanz took center stage at Billboard Latin Music Week 2024 for an icon Q&A moderated by Billboard's Leila Cobo.
Sanz will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will air Oct. 20 on Telemundo. Below, check out some of the memorable quotes from his conversation.
About its enduring success “Corazón Partio”: “There are worse things in the world [than singing the song over and over]. Imagine if they didn't ask you for anything [songs]? I respect my songs a lot. I've never complained about a song of mine, let alone this one. I will always be grateful.”
On his writing process today: “I'm no longer locked up for 14 hours a day. It's nice to share, I like to work as a team. When I want to convey something, I look deeper inside. I want to get some story and tension out of the songs. I like that breath of fresh air of working with people who take me to another place.”
In his new song “Palmeras en el Jardín”: “It's a story of love and wanting to change everything in your life to make someone feel comfortable. You thought you did a lot planting palm trees but in the end it wasn't enough and it turns out you keep all the palm trees and she is left alone. This is the song.
For his mental health: “I once wrote something about my mood [on ‘X’] and when I woke up in the morning, I was overwhelmed. It helped. I always wake up in a good mood…everything works for me and I love life. What I felt that day, was not sadness, no stress, it was an emptiness, a hole in my chest, and that's scary. [I got out] with the help of professionals and you have to do your part”.
About being passionate about music: “You have to want to make music and then people will like it. There is a lot of confusion these days with music. It should be colorful, varied. Imagine a city with only one color? The beauty is the colors, the different textures. This is music and this is what I will do for the rest of my life.”
In his Netflix documentary: “They think I'm going to tell everything, but no. It will be very interesting. We are very happy with the team and how we managed to find a path that we all like. You can talk about everything… there is no fear of talking about things as they are. It's important that everything has a lesson and is useful for something.”
About being an entrepreneur and an artist: “Being a businessman, being a composer and a musician don't go together. To be an entrepreneur you have to be a bit of a bastard or a bit of a wit. I admire artists who can do it, but I can't do it myself.”
